Phase
by Lyrical Logic
Summary: .'After all, half the answer is the question itself.' Introspection on our three leading ladies.


.'After all, half the answer is the question itself' Introspection on our 3 leading ladies.

Disclaimer- I own nothing. Not even the Internet.

**Phase one- For His Acceptance**

**Enter CombatantZero **

**Stage set- Misery and its company**

Ninja's are masters of illusion; princesses are good at faking it. Then why, oh, why are you crying. He never meant to say it and you never meant to cry, accept it, get over it and go...do...something. Maybe, possibly he'll see you the way he was meant to.

So steal from your friends

Lose your dignity

Keep running

One day he'll lose his patience

One day he'll realise just why you aren't really worth it

And you'll fall on rocks

But hey, at least your father will accept you.

**Phase one- For His Love**

**Enter- CombatantThree **

**Stage set- Suffocating, over powering, sickly sweet**

'_You're beautiful' _Yes, thank you for the nonsense. Too bad love is blind, stupid and probably hates you anyway. Yes, every time you move people stare at you. Yes, your bar is frequented with handsome suitors and rich men with too much time on their hands and yes, you do have a large chest. _'Thank you for being obvious'_

But you see that man over there

Yes, that one, in the corner

_Yes that one!_

He sees you as a person beyond that.

One day he might see you as a person that he could _happy with_

Right now, it's all you can do to keep smiling, wave and hold the dam together.

Because one day it'll be your turn

Till then you better wash those glasses.

**Phase one- For His Forgiveness**

**Enter CombatantTen**

**Stage set- Turn yourself inside out for the cause**

Fact one of Many- you have always and probably will always love Zack Fair. The end, no questions asked

Fact two of Many- you're a Cetra. Great sacrifice is practically in the job description.

Fact three of Many- You're not sure how you feel about death, the lifestream or any of it.

Conclusion- there is none.

There's also no point, but watching the people here-

Here, now, with you.

You feel drawn to them, different with scars of all shapes and sizes, cutting and bleeding and _wanting. _Somehow you became a part of the tangle of confusion and memories and wants and feelings and you started questioning. What's beyond that corner, if I take a chance, take a risk what will happen. You got _involved._

Suddenly, it made sense.

This sacrifice right here right now may make it worth it.

Keep going, the end you want is around the corner.

**Phase two- For Her Country**

**Enter CombatantZero **

**Stage set- The Patron Saint of Liars and Fakes**

So you lied.

Good god, you're a ninja.

You don't get very far in this career if you don't.

They're all still mad and you don't care, you have the Materia and that's all that matters

_Hey! Where are you-_

Isn't it?

_W-Wait! Don't-_

Leave you behind?

Why shouldn't they?

**Phase one- For Her Peace of Mind**

**Enter CombatantThree**

**Stage set- Falling away with you**

You don't like it but you keep going anyway.

You don't wanna fall into his madness, but there's something so very..._inviting.._. about his brand of insanity and you stay where you are hoping if you wait long enough the other one will come back.

That little boy you knew as a child

_Hey Cloud, Tifa here-_

He's not coming back

**Phase one- For Her Piece of Heaven **

**Enter CombatantTen**

**Stage set- Solemnity, Synergy**

_Shlick_

Death is quick, life is hard.

**Phase one- For Your Life**

**Enter CombatantZero **

**Stage set- Defying Gravity**

You get air sick.

You also get sick of life.

It's like this giant roller coaster you can't control and sometimes you feel it inside you. It makes you feel weird, bad, like you're not worth it.

And that hurts you more than anything.

There are times when you figure you aren't worth it. Those are the days when you sit by Aerith's pool and play with the flowers. Those are the days you spend out on someone's stolen motorbike. Those are the days you spend piss drunk and spinning around in your underwear even when you know all it does is make you look stupid.

Those are the days better left forgotten.

You spent so long trying to keep it up, keep running, keep _going _that you forgot that life can actually stay _still_ even if it is only for a few seconds. You wake up one day and find yourself in a cycle of self hatred and mortification and when you sit down for breakfast you think-

You think maybe love will change this

{_it hasn't}_

Maybe friendship

{_you'd have to be a friend first}_

What are you fighting?

{_you know this one}_

Who are you running from?

{_guess again, little ninja}_

You're your only combatant

{_the world exists to thwart you__}_

Well then...

{_well what?__}_

It's just you isn't it?

{_and...__}_

Who's stopping you?

And in the end, those three words probably saved her life.

**Phase one- For Yourself**

**Enter CombatantThree**

**Stage set- Butterflies and Hurricanes**

It's not like you can change this.

He's still broken, you're still waiting and the world doesn't want to let go of its heroes yet.

_Spin kick, _It's not like he cares.

_Drop roll, _And no matter how hard you try his shoes were always 3 sizes too big for you.

_Groin block, _So what do you do?

_Jump kick,_ Who are you fighting?

_Combination, _What are you fighting?

You stop and stretch a little more. Then you lie down, _what would Aerith do? _ You know its stupid to endlessly compare yourself to a dead person but you've got no options left. Aerith is what he needs. Aerith is what he wants. Who cares if she's dead it's your job to be what he needs.

Is it?

Is it really?

You jump up and in a matter of seconds you run and jump and kick your way across the church.

_Roundhouse, _Who said it had to be you?

_Split, _When did it become your duty to do this?

_Punch, _Did you ever want this to be your whole life?

_Punch, _Just waiting and waiting. When is he gonna come back, will he be okay?

_Punch, _Who made this decision for you?

_Punch, _You did.

_Punch, Punch _When?

_Punch, Punch, Punch _You don't know.

Your hair gets caught on a piece of rock. You spin and turn and yet you can't get away, it tangles and tears and in the end you simply grab the switch knife from your back pocket and hack and _hack _till it's all gone.

You punch harder.

_You don't have to be this._

Harder

_It's okay not to be her._

Harder

_You're not the combatant_

Harder

_It's okay not to change for him_

Harder

_It's okay to be yourself_

And the wall crumbles

Suddenly light is covering her and some part of herself she believed was dead rouses itself. Her hair is much shorter now and it feels like she was carrying the weight of the dead in it.

It's not the fourth wall, but it'll do.

**Phase one- For Your Hope**

**Enter CombatantTen **

**Stage set- Q&A**

Some questions will never be answered.

Like Yuffie's need to accept Shelke

Like Tifa's need to be like you.

Like Clouds need to hate himself and Vincent's to repent for something he never did

Like their psychopathic need to break each other and rebuild what was never really broken.

You watch them every day since you died. You can see they miss you and you can't for the life –or death- of you figure out why. They look at you through rose glasses and it annoys the hell out of you.

So you watch closer, you breathe in every moment of their lives.

You watched when Yuffie broke down

You watched when Tifa finally gave up on Cloud –and his subsequent realisation that he was very much in love with her.

You watched Cid die

You watched Vincent overcome his fears

You watched Reno give up alcohol

You watched so much and every time you ended up crying hysterically.

They were all so alive and brilliant and they wanted to be dead? Like you? You don't get it.

There is nothing redeeming about being dead.

You sit there and ponder.

Sometimes Yuffie sit on rooftops and asks you questions.

It used to be, _how do I become more like you _or _how did you do it _

But it seems she no longer cares about that, instead asking, _what's it like up there _and _if Zack isn't nice to me I'll kill him_

Tifa's always been more introspective her questions were always more _what's the meaning of all this _and _how do I keep Cloud here _than _how do I cook the perfect roast dinner_

But one day, at the exact sometime, on 2 different sides of the planet they ask the same question.

'_Is there something you want answered, Aerith?'_

Is there a question you want answered?

She never thought about it.

'_Maybe,'_

But...

'_Probably not.'_

After all, half the answer is the question itself.

_----------_

_TEH END_

Would you believe I got this from a comprehension task?


End file.
